Container closure



Aug. 7, 1962 G D. ELLIOTT ETAL 3,048,297

CONTAINER CLOSURE Filed March 10, 1961 2 Fig.6

George 0. E I/I'afr John J M/lrinson 1N VEN TORS BY WWW 3M United States Patent C) ice 3,048,297 CONTAINER CLOSURE George D. Elliott, P.0. Box 64, and John J. Wilkinson, P.0. Drawer Y, both of Alamogordo, N. Mex. Filed Mar. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 94,749 9 Claims. (Cl. 220-245) This invention relates to container-closures, and more particularly, to a flexible closure member for a can which may be manually applied to and removed from the can very rapidly and with a minimum of effort, and

without requiring any special tools.

Briefly, the invention comprises a slightly conical cylindrical cap having radial ridges therein extending from its center for increasing the flexibility thereof. The cap is applied to a can having a circular rib around its inner periphery and an annular groove adjacent the-rib for receiving the cap. When the edge of the cap is seated on the circular rib and pressed inwardly manually so as to flatten the cap and to deform it past its over-center position, the cap expands radially to fit tightly within the groove, and when it snaps past its over-center position, it becomes automatically retained in the groove. A tab is attached to the central portion of the cap. For an operator to remove the cap, it is only necessary that he grasp the tab in one hand and the can in the other hand and exert a pullingforce on the tab. This causes the cap to snap outwardly to its normal conical position whereby the peripheral edges of the cap contract in a radial direction for automatically freeing themselves from the groove. This permits the cap to be then lifted from the end of the can with a minimum of efiort.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a closure means for a container which may be installed on and removed from the container whenever desired manually without requiring any special tools or skill. The device is therefore particularly adapted to be used by campers, hunters, and others who do not have access to conventional can opening devices.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a removable lid for a can or other container having a built-in handle or tab for facilitating easy removal of the lid.

It is yet another object of this invention to providea closing device for containers which leave no jagged edges on the container when removed therefrom. Accordingly the container is much safer to use after it is opened.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a closure device for containers which is simple in design, economical to manufacture and durable in use.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded view in perspective of the novel closure device;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged plan view of the cap or lid without the tab secured thereto;

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the plane of line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the lid in its over-center position with the tab installed thereon;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the plane of line 5--5 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged cross section-a1 view of a portion of the device shown in FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the lid edge in normal poistion.

The closure member or lid '10 comprises a circular piece of resilient material, preferably sheet metal. -The l 3,048,297 Patented Aug. 7, 19 62 material has a plurality of downwardly projecting V-shaped ribs 12 radiating from-its center, and preferably six in number. As shown in FIGURE 3, the ribs 12 which are V-shaped in cross-section are resiliently urged by the material forming the grooves to open at their top portions. The V-shaped grooves 12 are at a maximum depth at the center 14 of the lid 10. The depth of the grooves gradually decreases in a radially outward direction from the center 14 until they finally disappear adjacent the periphery of the lid. The portions 16 of the lid lying between the radial rib-s 12 are of sector shape and are generally flat, however, due to'the normal open ing and expansion of the upper portions of the grooves 12 as shown in FIGURE 3, the central portion of the lid '10 is forced upwardly in relation to its outer periphery so as to form a cover of generally conical configuration.

As shown more clearly in FIGURES 5 and 6, the outer circular periphery of the lid 10 is bent over upon itself as shown at 18 for forming a more rigid and smooth periphery. The container 20 has its open end especially formed and shaped for receiving the lid 10.

The open end of the container 20 has its edge portion especially shaped and formed for receiving the lid 10. The upper end of the container has a radially inwardly extending rib 22 formed therein by forcing a portion of the container inwardly. The extreme upper end of the container has its peripheral edge portion 24 bent back upon itself so as to :form an annular groove 26 between the end 24 and the flange 22.

In order to form a perfect seal between the groove 26 and the outer periphery 28 of the lid, the groove or the outer periphery of the lid may be coated with some resilient material such as sprayed on plastic or rubber. Alternatively, a gasket may be retained in the bottom portion of the groove 26. To install the lid 10 in the open end of the container 20 so as to seal the same, the lid is placed so that its edge 18 rests upon the upper surface of the flange 22 as shown in FIGURE 3. Then the central portion of the lid 10 is pressed downwardly towards the center of the container so as to flatten the lid and close the resilient V-sh-aped grooves 12 as shown in FIG- URE 5. Just before the lid reaches its flat position, the peripheral edge 28 of the lid engages the bottom ofthe groove 26 due to the natural expansion of the lid caused by deforming it from the conical configuration to a flat shape. After the edge portions 28 engage the bottom of the groove 26, the operator continues to push central portion of the lid downwardly toward the can until it snaps to a slight over-center position. When the lid is in this over-center position, the edge 28 thereof is resiliently urgedi'nto tight engagement with the bottom of the groove 26 and the sides of grooves 12 about one another as shown'in FIGURE 5. This automatically locks the lid in its over-center position so that it will be retained in the groove 26.

After the lid is locked in its over-center position, a tab or handle 30 of circular shape is placed on the lid so as to be concentric therewith. The tabor handle 30 is preferably composed of sheet metal and comprises an annular body portion 32 secured at a point on its inner periphery to a circular tab 34.

After the handle 30 is properly placed upon the upper 7 surface of the lid 10, it is tack welded or spot soldered 7 substantially perpendicular to the lid, and then by tugging outwardly on the tab the relatively weak connecting points 36 are broken so that the body 32 is attached to the lid only at the relatively strong attachment point 38. By further pulling on the tab 34, the operator urges the center of the lid upwardly past its overcenter position and into the release position illustrated in FIGURE 3. The lid may then obviously be lifted by means of the tab 34 from the container and with a minimum of effort. After the operator has removed the desired amount of contents from the container 20, he may reinsert the lid and again lock it to the container in' the manner explained above.

In using the invention on a production line in a canning factory for example, the can would be filled with the desired materials, as is normally done, then passed by conveyor to a capping machine, where the lid 10 would be dropped into place so as to bottom on the flange 22. The lid would then be pressed down from its conical position to a slightly over-center position causing the lid to expand thereby forcing the bead around its outer periphery into engagement with the inner surface of the annular groove 26. When the peripheral edge of the lid 28 is forced tightly into the groove 26, it can be seen as shown in FIGURE 6 that three perpendicular surfaces at the outer edge of the lid tightly engage the complementary surfaces forming the groove. The retaining ring or handle 30 is then placed in the center of the lid and spot welded thereto as shown at 36.

Normally, the flanged edge portion 18 of the lid 10 is canted in relation to the body portion of the lid so as to form an annular V-shaped groove between the edge 18 and the body of the lid. However, when the edge 18 is forced into the groove 26, the surfaces of the groove press the edge portion 18 flat against the body of the lid as shown in FIGURE 3. Thus it can be seen that the annular edge portion 18 is resiliently urged into engagement with the upper surface of the flange 22 for sealing contact therewith. However, for forming an absolutely hermetic seal, the groove 26 or edge 18 may be coated with some sealing material as explained above.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A lid for a container comprising a piece of resilient sheet material, a plurality of ribs of V-shaped cross section formed in said piece and radiating from the center thereof, the side walls of each of said ribs being substantially normal to said piece and resiliently urged apart so as to force said piece into a generally conical shape with its peripheral edges lying in the same plane, said lid being adapted to be snapped into a substantially flat overcenter position for expanding its periphery into sealing engagement with the inner surface of the container, the side walls of each groove abutting one another when the lid is snapped to said overcenter position for retaining the lid in substantially flat position.

2. A lid as defined in claim 1, a flexible means permanently secured to the center of said lid whereby the flexible means extends over said ribs, releasable means additionally securing said flexible means to said lid when the lid is in its over-center position whereby the flexible means hold said ribs closed and hold said lid in its overcenter position.

3. A lid :for a container comprising a piece of resilient sheet material of generally uniform thickness, a plurality of ribs of generally V-shaped cross section formed in said piece and radiating from the center thereof, the side walls of each of said ribs being substantially normal to said piece and resiliently urged apart so as to force said piece into a generally conical shape with its peripheral edges lying in the same plane, said lid being adapted to be snapped into a substantially flat overcenter position for expanding its periphery into sealing engagement with the inner surface of a container, the side walls of the grooves extending into the cone defined by the lid when it is in its normal unexpanded position whereby the side walls abut when the lid is expanded.

4. A lid for a container comprising a piece of resilient sheet material, a plurality of ribs of V-shaped cross section formed in said piece and radiating from the center thereof, the side walls of each ofsaid ribs being substantially normal to said piece and resiliently urged apart so as to force said piece into a generally conical shape with its peripheral edges lying in the same plane, said lid being adapted to be snapped into a substantially flat overcenter position for expanding its periphery into seal ing engagement with the inner surface of a container, the periphery of said piece being generally circular, and the extreme edge thereof being folded in adjacent the lid to form a flange, a V-shaped groove between said flange and the outer periphery of said lid, said flange adapted to flex axially toward said lid when the lid is installed on the container.

5. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein said ribs gradually decrease in size in a radially outward direction whereby the peripheral edge of said lid is perfectly circular and all portions thereof are coplanar.

6. A container having an open end sealed by a lid, said lid comprising a piece of resilient sheet metal formed with a plurality of channel shaped ribs radiating from its center, said ribs being resiliently urged towards an open position, said container having an annular groove formed in the inner surface of its open end, said lid being forced into a substantially flat slightly over-center position whereby the channel shaped grooves are closed and the periphery of said lid is expanded into sealing engagement with said groove, means secured to said lid for holding said ribs closed and said lid in said over-center position.

7. The combination defined in claim 6 wherein said means comprises a ring at the center of said lid overlying all of said ribs and secured to said lid by a plurality of relatively weak connections for releasably holding said ribs closed and said lid in said over-center position.

8. A container having an open end sealed by a lid, said lid comprising a piece of resilient sheet metal formed with a plurality of channel shaped ribs radiating from its center, said ribs being resiliently urged towards an open position, said container having an annular groove formed in the inner surface of its open end, said lid being forced into a substantially flat slightly over-center position whereby the channel shaped grooves are closed and the periphery of said lid is expanded into sealing engagement with said groove, means secured to said lid for holding said ribs closed and said lid in said over-center position, said means comprising a ring at the center of said lid overlying all of said ribs and secured to said lid by a plurality of relatively weak connections for releasably holding said ribs closed and said lid in said overcenter position, a flexible tab secured to the inner periphery of said lid for rupturing said weak connections.

9. In combination, a container, a lid for the container comprising a piece of resilient sheet material, a plurality of ribs of V-shaped cross-section formed in said piece and radiating from the center thereof, the side walls of said ribs being substantially normal to said piece and resiliently urged apart so as to force said piece into a generally conic-a1 shape with its peripheral edges lying in the same plane, said lid being snapped into a substantially flat over-center position whereby its periphery is expanded into sealing engagement with the inner surface of the container, the periphery of said piece being circular, and the extreme edge thereof being folded in to form a V-shaped groove between said edge and the outer periphery of said piece, said ribs being tapered in a radially outward direction, an annular groove formed in the inner surface of said container, the periphery of said lid being expanded into sealing engagement with said 5 groove when said lid is snapped into said over-center 905,652 position, said ribs terminating short of the periphery of 2,671,574 the lid.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 626,415 835,560

Re. 15,491 Baum Nov. 21, 1922 Comings Dec. 1, 1908 Wol-fe Mar. 9, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain July 14, 1949 Germany Apr. 3, 1952 

